Anti-theft device for apartment house mail receptacles



E. BROWN 2,832,529

ANTI-THEFT DEVICE FOR APARTMENT HOUSE MAIL RECEPTACLES April 29, 1958 V3 Sheets-sheaf. 1

Filed lay 6, 1954 ATTORNEY E. BROWN ,832,529

ANTI-THEFT DEVICE FOR APARTMENT HOUSE MAIL RECEPTACLES April 29, 1958 sSheets-Shee t 2 Filed 6, 1954 ATTORNEY April 29, 1958 E. BROWN ANTLTHEFTDEVICE FOR APARTMENT HOUSE MAIL RECEPTACLES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May6, 1954 United States Patent ANTI-THEFT DEVICE FOR APARTIVIENT HOUSEMAIL RECEPTACLES Eldridge Brown, Washington, D. C. Application May 6,1954, Serial No. 427,950

1 Claim. (Cl. 232-25) The present invention relates to that generalclass of devices known as mail boxes of the type used primarily inapartment buildings and relates more particularly to an anti-theftattachment for such mail boxes.

The aforesaid type of mail box .generally consists of a plurality ofindividual mail compartments, each closed by its own individual door,secured by a lock, the key to which is retained by the addressee orowner. Associated with the individual mail compartments is a singleopening through which the mailman can deposit the mail in any one or allof the individual compartments, said single opening being closed by alarge door to which the mailman alone has a key. One of the defects ofthis type of mail box is the ease with which any one of the individualdoors can be pried open and the mail pilfered. It has been found thatthe pilfering is usually done by someone living outside of the apartmentbuilding.

The primary object of the present invention is the provision of anattachment to the present mail box to make it more difiicult to pry openany of the individual compartment doors. I accomplish this object byproviding a protective grille member which may be readily secured toexisting mail boxes, said grille member extending across the multipleindividual doors and serving to prevent any of the doors from beingopened except by authorized persons. The grille is held in lockedposition and can be opened only by authorized persons having a key tothe locking means holding the grille in position.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of ananti-theft device for apartment house mail boxes which is of relativelysimple construction, efficient in operation, attractive in appearanceand which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be obviousfrom the following description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front view of a conventional multiple mail box with thepresent invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is an end view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1 with thelocking member in place.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure1.

Figure 6 is a portion of one of the end vertical looking bars.

Figure 7 is a top view thereof.

Figure 8 is a front view of a filler block and lock pad used with thelocking bar of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a top view thereof.

Figure 10 is a portion of an inner vertical locking bar.

Figure 11 is a top view thereof.

Figure 12 is a front view of a filler block and lock pad used with thelocking bar shown in Figure 10.

Figure 13 is a top view thereof.

Figure 14 is an end view of a modified form of the invention as appliedto a flush type of multiple mail box.

Referring to the drawings in detail, numeral 15 is used to broadlydesignate a conventional type of mail box and for illustrative purposes,I have shown two mail boxes adjoining each other. It will be obvious asthe description progresses that the present invention is applicable toone or more mail boxes of the type illustrated. As shown, each of themail boxes 15 comprises a box having a front panel 16, sides 17 and topand bottom 18 and 19 respectively. The bottom'is generally formed ofwood and the other parts of metal. Arranged within the box 15 are aplurality of compartments, herein shown as seven in number, formed by aplurality of partition members, not shown. The partition membersterminate substantially midway of the box, leaving the upper interior ofthe box completely open. A master door 20, hinged at 21, closes theupper compartment and carries a single lock controlled through key slot22. The postman or letter carrier alone has the key to the master door.

Each of the lower compartments has its own individual door 23, hingedalso at 21, and controlled by individual locks accessible through keyslots 24. It will be apparent that each tenant has his own compartmentfor receiving mail and an individual key for the door to hiscompartment. Each lower door is generally provided with a sight opening25 so that it may be determined by the individual whether there is anymail. in the box without opening the same. Each door is also generallyprovided with a narrow slot 26 through which calling cards or the likemay be inserted in the absence of the box holder. Each door may alsohave means as indicated at 27 for placing an identification card withthe box holders name or apartment number. Generally, the upper part ofthe front panel contains a push button 28 and telephone mouthpiece 29. p

The mail box structure defined above is more or less conventional and isshown to illustrate the novel structure forming the subject matter ofthe present invention. The two mail boxes shown in Figures 1. and 2 areiden tical to each other and are of the type that protrude from the wallupon which they are mounted.

The novel anti-shaft device shown in the modification applied toprotruding mail boxes as illustrated in Figures 1 to 13 inclusiveconsists of a transverse angle bar 30 having a horizontal portion 31 anda shorter vertical portion 32. The bar 30 is of substantially the samelength as the width of the mail box 15. Secured to the vertical portion32 by rivets 33 is a fiat plate 34 to which is pivoted by means of apiano hinge 35 a second flat plate 36 to which is secured the grillemember 37.

The grille member comprises a frame formed of upper and lower horizontalbars 38, 39 and vertical bars 40 and 41 suitably secured to each bywelding or the like to form a rigid rectangular frame. Secured to theinner face of the frame by welding is a diamond grille 42. The size ofthe frame is such as to completely cover the width of the mail box towhich it is applied and approximately the lower third of the mail box.As seen in Figure 1, when the grille is in place, the upper edge of theframe terminates just short of the slots 26. It will also be noted thatthe vertical bars 40 and 41 extend a short distance above the upperhorizontal bar 38 for a purpose to be described.

Referring to Figures 3, 4, 6, 7, 10 and 11, it will be i seen thatvertical bar 40 is in the form of an angle bar whereas vertical bar 41is a flat bar. This is due to the fact that the invention is disclosedas applied to two adjoining mail boxes which generally bear against eachother. It will be understood that when the present device is used withone multiple mail box, both vertical bars will assasas be formed ofangle iron stock. Similarly, if more than two multiple mail boxes areplaced side by side, the vertical bars of the inner grille member willboth be of flat stock.

Referring to Figures 3, 4 and 5, the transverse bar is secured to themail box by means of bolts 42 and screws 43. Looking means are providedfor locking the upper part of the grille member 37 to the face of themail box 15. The locking means consists of a filler block provided withapertures 45 to enable the block to be secured to the front panel of themail box by suitable screws or bolts. The filler block 44 is furtherprovided with a cylindrical barrel 46 having a vertical bore 47 forreceiving a padlock 48 in a manner to be described. As seen in Figure 1,two blocks 44 are provided, one at each side of the mailbox and each issecured to the respective edge of the mail box at a point just below thetop edge of each vertical bar 40 and 41. Each of the bars 44 and 41 isprovided with an aperture 49 to receive the cylindrical barrels 46.'

To prevent loss of the two padlocks used for each mail box, a suitablechain 50 is provided. One end of the chain is secured in any suitablemanner to the padlock and the other end of the chain is secured to aclip '1 affixed to each of the vertical bars.

The present invention has been described in connection with a mail boxof the protruding type. However, the invention is equally applicable tomail boxes of the flush type. Referring to Figure 14, wherein is shown amail box of the flush type, the wall of the apartment house foyer,indicated by numeral 52, is recessed to receive the mail box 53. Thetransverse bar 54 is similar to the transverse bar 30 except that thehorizontal leg 31 is omitted. The vertical members 55 of the grille aremade of flat stock instead of angle iron stock. In all otherrespects thedetails of construction are the same as described in connection with thefirst modification.

The manner of using the present anti-theft attachment is more or lessapparent from the foregoing description. The attachment may be readilyapplied to existing mail boxes of the protruding or flush type. Theowners of the individual mail box are furnished a key to theirindividual compartment and a key or keys to the tWo padlocks. To obtainaccess to his mail compartment, the individual removes the padlocks 48,and pivots the grille member downwardly to inoperative position. Theindividual then has access to his own individual door. Thereafter, thegrille member is replaced to locking position and the padlocks applied.The present attachment does not interfore with the opening or closing ofthe large door 20 for depositing the mail into the individualcompartments.

It will be readily apparent that the present device is well adapted toaccomplish the objects of the invention enumerated above. While apreferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to beunderstood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number ofways. This application is, therefore, not to be limited to the precisedetails described, but is intended to cover all variations andmodifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and thescope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

In an apartment house mail receptacle comprising a plurality of lowerindividual door members and a single upper door, an anti-theft devicecomprising a bar member adapted to be permanently secured adjacent thelower edge of the mail receptacle, said bar extending substantially thefull width of said mail receptacle, a grille member pivotally secured tosaid bar member and adapted to extend over and cover a substantialportion of the lower door members, said grille member comprising arectangular frame, a wire mesh extending across said frame, upwardlydirected vertical extensions at each side edge of the frame member, andlocking means carried by said extensions for locking the grille memberto the mail receptacle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS449,371 Markell Mar. 31, 1891 693,770 Wright Feb. 13, 1902 753,302 OgleMar. 1, 1904 1,362,949 Lillard Dec. 21, 1920 1,554,862 Lightfoot Sept.22, 1925 1,620,474 Krick Mar. 8, 1927 2,130,617 Dockham Sept. 20, 19382,164,855 Florence July 4, 1939

